The Legend of Izabella
by AithneTheDaydreamer
Summary: Malingo tells Candy a story about the origins of the Sea of Izabella. Takes place after Book One during their travels around Abarat.


This story came to mind when I was reading different

legends in a book I found and thought that the same ideas

might go along with how the Sea of Izabella came to be.

Please review, and constructive criticism is always welcome!

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The sun shone high overhead as Malingo and Candy passed the island of Noon. Even with the ocean breeze blowing across the sea, the Day seemed impossibly warm, and both travelers felt the effects of the weather as they began to grow drowsy. Malingo soon fell sound asleep, and Candy found herself leaning over the side of the small craft and staring blankly into Izabella's lovely blue depths. The ocean had a strange life to it, something Candy had experienced more than once.

Malingo?" Candy asked, gently shaking the geshrat in an attempt to awaken him from his slumber. His eyes fluttered open and he grinned, pleased to see Candy after the strange dream he had drifted into. Malingo sat up strait, waiting for Candy to ask her question. "Malingo, I was wondering... You know how the Izabella seems to be alive in a way, like she can actually feel and understand things?"

"Um, yes, I know what you mean, but-"

"What I wanted to know is if there are any stories behind this ocean. Everyone always seems so comfortable with the fact that she seems to take you anywhere or protect you from drowning, but nobody's ever really told me why."

"Well," Malingo said, turning to face the turquoise waters of the Izabella, "There's plenty of different stories about how she came to be. Some people say she was the daughter of a jealous god who eventually turned her into the ocean, others say she was in love with a serpent that lived in the water and sacrificed her life to be with him, and still others say that she was the true creator of Abarat. Nobody really knows for sure which story is right or wrong, but I suppose that if you want to hear one of the legends about the Izabella, I have a story that I am familiar with. It's an old creation myth that used to be told in my family. Would you like to hear it?"

"Sure. There's nothing else to do now, anyways." Candy said. The two travelers found more comfortable positions on the boat, and then Malingo began his tale.

"A long time ago, before the Islands of Abarat even existed..."

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...There lived a young and beautiful woman named Izabella. She had flowing hair that was all different shades of purples, blues, and greens. Her eyes were a soft gray, and her voice gentle and full of compassion. Izabella, in fact, was almost always kind. Wherever she went, peace and comfort was sure to follow.

It seemed only natural that many young men quickly fell in love with the peculiar but lovely maiden, but one seemed to stand out above all others. He saw Izabella one day as he was out searching for food for his family and fell in love with her almost instantly. The man set out afterwards to win her heart, and he eventually succeeded. The maiden was taken by his honesty and willingness to help others, and agreed when he finally asked for her hand in marriage.

Years passed, and the couple's family grew. They had twenty-five children, each more different than the next. They were Izabella's pride and joy, and she and her husband adored each and every one of them. However, their happiness would not last forever, as Izabella's husband came down with a strange sickness and passed away.

In her sadness, Izabella moved the family away from the home that now held so many hurtful memories and traveled for many months across the mountainous land. There were no oceans in Izabella's time, and the idea of a body of water larger than a river would have seemed ridiculous to them. So, there was nothing but hills, ragged mountains, and flat planes for miles and miles. It was on their second month of traveling that Izabella and her children came across a dead, burnt field that had once been a forest. All that was left now were scorched stumps and blackened soil.

"Mother, there is something strange in the air," said Izabella's twelfth child, and she was right. The air held the hint of a powerful and cruel creature's presence. This creature had been alive since the dawn of time, and was a flawed creation of one of the great gods of Abarat. He was known for his cunning and cruelty, and was angry that so many people had walked onto his land as if it belonged to them. He loathed the kindness that seemed to flow from Izabella and the strength and love that was returned by the children. Angrily, the creature emerged from his hiding place and rose up to his full, terrifying height. Izabella and her children gasped at the sight. The creature vaguely resembled a dragon, with hooked claws and a strong jaw fill with razor-sharp teeth. His eyes had a sickly glow about him, and seemed to radiate hatred.

"There is a price to be paid for trespassing on my land," the creature growled, his voice reverberating in all directions. "You must never leave this place, and I will eat one of you per day until you are all dead and gone. Then, you shall have paid for your crime."

Izabella could think of nothing worse than losing her children in such a way. "Please," she begged, "Take me and do whatever you wish, but leave my children be." The creature simply laughed a horrible, guttural laugh.

"You have made your mistake, and there is nothing you can do now to change your fate," he hissed, moving towards Izabella and her family. Izabella was not ready to give up the ones she loved so easily. She remembered that in times of need, the gods of Abarat were always supposed to help if the situation was dire enough.

_Please, _she prayed, _O great ones above, answer my prayer in this time of need and send help to protect my children from the forces that wish to harm them. Free us from this evil, and let us be safe from the danger that has come upon us._ With that, Izabella stared into the heavens, hoping for some kind of miracle that would help them.

Now, the gods of Abarat were strong beings that didn't always enjoy it when they were forced into the petty affairs of humans. But Izabella was full of so much hope and fear for her children that they knew that her situation was worth helping. They decided to rid the world of the terrible creature that was causing so much trouble, and there was only one possible way to do so: a flood. There would be more water that anyone had ever seen before, they decided. And perhaps it would save Izabella and her family as she had begged. With the decision made, all that was left to do now was wait.

It was a few moments later that the ground began to shake with tremendous force. Izabella knew that her prayers had been answered in some way or another.

"Run, my children! Run away from this place and do not falter!" She cried, keeping her eyes on the stunned beast before them. He seemed to recover from his stupor, and with a roar the creature rushed at Izabella, claws outstretched. He leaped...and was hit full-on by a giant wave of water. Izabella could not look back to see if her children had fled, for she was submerged by the mighty wave as well.

***

It was quite a few days later when Izabella found her way onto a small island that had once been the top of a mountain. What she saw took her breath away. There was nothing but water for miles and miles; water that shimmered different shades of blue in the hot sun. And no matter where she looked, her children were nowhere in sight. At first she believed that they had found a place to stay until the water receded, but weeks passed and the water did not disappear, and her children did not come. Some say that Izabella went out searching for them and died of exhaustion from swimming, others say that she waited at the spot she first arrived until she grew old and perished there. Each different story had something in common, however: Izabella wept so many tears over her children that it filled the water with salt, and that is why ocean water is not clean like freshwater lakes and rivers.

It is known, however, that when Izabella died, the gods took pity on the sorrowful mother. They raised twenty-five islands, each with a different climate and time to match the personality of Izabella's children, and filled each island with each child's spirit. Izabella's spirit they made one with the great ocean, so she could forever watch over her family. Over the years, fish found their way into Izabella's waters, and they were blessed by her spirit and given knowledge and skills large in comparison to fish in the Hereafter. Today, it is said that Izabella helps travelers who have been lost in her waters because she does not want them to have the same fate as her beloved children...

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"...And that's how it ends," Malingo said, finishing his tale. It had taken him past two Hours to tell the whole story, and they were no longer subjected to the hot Noon sun that they had felt at the beginning of the story.

"It's so _sad_," Candy murmured, drawn back to tales her Grandfather used to tell her back in her home in Chickentown. It seemed that every legend ended with someone or something dieing. Malingo shrugged.

"It _is_ sad, but if you think about it, Izabella finally got what she wanted: to watch over her family."

"That's true, but still..." Candy gazed out over the ocean, eyes-half closed and a sullen look on her face.

"Hey," Malingo said, worried to see his closest friend so upset, "Stop looking so down. It's not right to be down when there's still so much we haven't explored. How about we go ashore and try and find the opera-singing trees that I was telling you about earlier?" That got Candy's attention, and with that, the two travelers set out across the Izabella in search of more of Abarat's wonders.

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Anyways, I hoped you liked my story!

Sorry if it seemed a little cheesy;

I'm sort of new to this kind of thing... : )


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